Last year, I won an international drum competition to join the next generation of Scrap Arts Music. So I moved up to Victoria, BC, got a loft in the downtown area and all, and began rehearsals with drummers I later would discover to be my "Canadian family." It has been an absolute joy deep diving into a new world of explorative percussion, combining many different sides and interpretations of what this career field entails, and musically communicating with percussionists from very different backgrounds.

For example, Masako and I are orchestrally classically trained, even if I did spin off into the marimba singer/songwriter world, and she is an active section percussionist in the symphony here; Chris is very much new music & composer centric from Vancouver, while Alex is a solid drum set player that grooves hard here in the local Victoria community, and Greg...well, no one's quite sure where he comes from (just kidding - his background in world percussion is amazing, but his hunger for continuing to learn is what's truly impressive, imho). I share this because, while we all have our "stereotypes" of how the musical community can try to categorize us, we are all so much more than that - and the level of musicality that we bring to the table, in combination with our willingness to share and learn and grow, it is personally quite inspiring. You know the guys in sessions, right, the ones that can't check their egos at the door - the ones that don't want to admit that they don't know as much about what another musician might be playing, but are too scared to open up and ask in order to learn. That fear doesn't exist in this group. The "fake it till ya make it" is not there; it is much more about, "hey, I actually don't know that rudiment in the way you're sticking it with this combo, can you show me?" or, "ya know, that bell pattern you're hinting at in your left hand actually corresponds to this conga pattern from a different genre, and it's pretty groovy, want to see how?" The answer is always YES. It's an openness and sincere interest, and the common goal is clear.

Funny moments though during rehearsals when we're trying to convey though English or writing what we mean musically, well...it definitely magnifies our unique + differing backgrounds. More than once we all have been talking about the same phrase of music, but in either completely different time signatures, emphasis feels, or beat structures. And yet, when it's played - together - it is a total blast. I don't think I've ever more directly experienced "music breaking language barriers" as vividly as I have within "musical language barriers" - ya follow?! Even more humorous: if you were to see our notes and transcriptions for pieces, you'd think they were for different ensembles all together! I like to write out my music pretty systematically and I want it to be score-exact. I also audio record tricky phrases for the bus ride later. Alex definitely video records more of his stuff with a few notes here and there, Chris has a random line of a rhythmic phrase jotted down with no reference to the piece (that would totally confuse me! But he's a wizard), Greg has a giant poster board with lines and dots and 2s and 3s throughout (again, somewhat puzzling for my brain), and while Masako takes notes, they're all in Japanese. Music is remarkable. I can't wait to share this show with more people. We're described "as if Dr. Seuss, Frank Zappa, Igor Stravinsky, Flash Gordon, and Evelyn Glennie drank a lot of coffee together..." (I also feel a bit of "Steve Reich meets a trampoline class" but that's just me - - I mean, have you ever tried jumping in two while playing polyrhythmic-ostinati lines based in three?! Come ON people!) Also, did I mention the athleticism?? I have never been more grateful for my fitness background than I am now! :-p

Anyway, this past spring we had the joy of premiering "Children of Metropolis" on the show's inaugural tour throughout North America. You can watch our sizzler here, and a bit of behind the scenes "day in the life" sillies here. We're back in the studios this summer working on our preview show for fall showcases, and definitely looking forward to the 2018-2019 season!

A while back I had the pleasure of guesting on Karen Hall's PE for Musicians podcast - where we talked about the physical tolls of doing it all, how to balance work and health through fitness, the power of saying YES to opportunity, and all around drumming/fitness/business entrepreneur type things. It was a blast! #casualpolevaulter

You can take a listen HERE and check out the article + show notes HERE.

For more info on her blog, feel free to read on at www.peformusicians.com - rock on, Karen!

Yep, that’s me. I’m Kristen’s practice pad. You might not know it, but she and I have been in a pretty serious, long term, on-again off-again relationship for over 20 years now. I know, such gossip! We never made it “Facebook official,” and I’m not even sure she’s ever shared our #bestnine on Insta - after all, I was the behind the scenes grit for her shiny snare drum to enjoy the stage spotlight come concert time; but I say “enough’s enough!” I know so much about all of you - she’s told me all about her amazing mentors, teachers, colleagues, and friends throughout the years during our early morning warm-up sessions. She’s talked out her goals to me under her breath as we’d run through “Chester New Breed” drills late at night, and how she’s inspired by you all - still to this very day. Oh boy do I know how highly she thinks of you, as we’d warm up backstage before a concert, trying to take a portion of each and every one of you onto the stage in her playing. I know how grateful she is that you’ve enriched her life as she strives forward into her next set of ambitions. I also know she sends out a little update every few years to all of you that have had an impact on her life, thanking you for your kind support and love, but I think now it’s finally time that I’m the one to say “hello!"

I’m the one that helped her through middle school flams, paradiddles, and even the dreaded soft buzz roll in Upstate New York. I’m the one that got her into Conservatory, through juries, and into post-grad gig life in Cleveland. I’m the one that kept her practice record honest in between music business internship hours in Indianapolis...heck, I even extended my services to her coffee mug during those long nights of grad school arts admin research papers down in Florida. Now you listen here, those papers may have passed the panel’s defense with flying colors, but I still can’t get those dang coffee ring tattoos off my thick skin, and I think my edges melted a bit from the Talla-sassy heat. I’m told these marks are a “right of passage” for a good practice pad - and my age is showing with some cracks here and there, but she still loves me. She’ll try out other practice pads, younger ones, bigger ones with brighter pitch responses, takes them on a date or two to a rehearsal, but always comes back to me. We’ve got history. ;)

I’ve traveled to every city with her, puffed up my chest to give her the best support for rebound that a double stroke could ever ask for, and yes, even been the reciprocal of many a curse word when the sticks don’t behave at top tempo (but hey, that’s on you, sticks! I’m holding up my side of the bargain...). I’ve been there when she launched BEAR out in LA and needed to think out concert designs and get creative with budget build outs...we got real good at odd-metered groovy accent patterns on loop, let me tell you. I’ve been the woodshed warrior, rhythm honesty-tracker, and cheerleader for her throughout the years, whispering, “you’re getting there, let’s do it two clicks faster, don’t give up yet.”

Which is why I’m thrilled to share with you, we’ve headed up to Canada-! Kristen is officially the newest member of athletic percussion group, “Scrap Arts Music,” based in Victoria, British Columbia and represented by IMG Artists. She found out she won the last spot in a brand new production called, “Children of Metropolis,” after an international search this past fall. Since then, we’ve gone head first into intense polyrhythm studies, Moeller technique, and learning everything with a right hand lead. Good grief, Kristen is a COMPLETE lefty - this might be her biggest challenge yet! One day, she went beast mode on me and flipped her sticks over. We’ve been playing everything heavier, louder, and faster ever since. Sometimes I get a bit jealous of the pillow, but she can only play on that fluffy wimp for so long before she comes back to me. She may be her own version of “Whiplash” to some, but I make sure she takes breaks to stretch her forearms, and we watch the videos of her rehearsals slowly as she takes down points for improvement, resting her notebook on me. Her tiny loft can get pretty chilly in BC and so sometimes she practices on me while wearing gloves...with only the inner knuckle portions cut out for her thumbs and pointer fingers; I tell her she’s a drum nerd, wearing a blanket like a Snuggie, but she doesn’t care. She tells me we’ve got work to do. I just hope my light rubber cracks don’t creek further in these frigid temperatures (especially when she tosses me in her backpack as we head to rehearsal on her bike), but I hear we go on tour in a few months, so I’m holding out for warmer days!

There are many more things I could share with you about Kristen’s next adventure, but we’ve got to dive back into rehearsals, for our theater residency is only two months away - her manager tells us there are costumes, lighting designs, projections, and new instruments being built just for this show - but hey, as long as there’s a place for me to sit backstage, I’ll keep her grooving.

Friends! Tickets for the Spring 2018 Tour are now on sale! Click HERE for more info.

Bring K to your city?! Scrap Arts Music is represented in the Americas by IMG Artists. Reach out to them, they're super rad!

This group is run by my friend Andrew, and if you're ever in the Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia area, you should totally check out a show! They are all about sharing music in new ways, I love their concert designs, and top talent that they bring in - it's awesome. Here's their official info:

"Emerald City Music was founded in 2015 with the conviction that classical music deserves a fresh start. Co-founders Kristin Lee and Andrew Goldstein set off to create an authentically unique concert experience, where the art and audience truly collide."

I've known Maria Finkelmeier for years, and she just keeps cranking out the hits...innovation after innovation, ambition after ambition, project after project...take a second to check what she's currently got cooking:

One of their recent shows embodied the groove, artistry, music, and creative concert design that just gets my soul charged up! I mean, really guys, this is rad. Just click the link, Brutal Rhythm (I knowww!), and then we can FaceTime about it...

Here's their official description: "Masary Studios is a team of artists awakening built and natural environments through live music performance and video projection mapping. By unlocking the hidden possibilities of an urban landscape or space, Masary's works are at once a performance, a dissection of architecture, and an immersive visual spectacle."

^No worries, just click and then let yourself fall down a bit of a click-rabbit hole, it's fine.

Here's their blurb: "Kadence Arts is an non-profit organization that incubates artistic projects, curates performances, and engages local communities through music making. Our mission is to unite the community by providing new experiences to support and encourage an appreciation and understanding of how music impacts and enriches our lives. By empowering musicians to break the boundaries of creation, and teaching our community to experiment with self-expression, we’ll create an active ecosystem of art making and learning."